Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefan-A
That's a nice looking snake. 
Which one was the Mountain garter again? Scientific name? |
They are actually both from the same area. Most of the males are very yellow with little or no blue flecks. I have only found one male that had as much blue as the female in the photo.
I am not sure about which subspecies they really are, but based upon range maps, I believe they are Mountain Garters (Thamnophis elegans elegans). I may be in an intergrade zone with the Wandering Garter (Thamnophis elegans vagrans). The only other Garter listed in my range are the Valley Garters (Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi), but my locals do not have any red on them at all, just flecks of blue. They also look very similar to the Oregon Garters, but they are not shown to be in my local, but then again, Klamath Garters, were only 100 miles away until they grouped them with the Oregons. My elevation is 5000 feet, so the Mountains seem to be the most likely.
You guys are suppose to help me with the identification. LOL I am a Corn Snake guy, I just happen to like Garters too. These guys just happen to be living in a creek on my property.
Here is a link to the Garters in California.
http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gartersnakeskey.html
And a link to the Mountains
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/t.e.elegans.html
If you look at the range map for the Mountains, I am very near the yellow in the very north/east corner of California, but I am probably just inside of the red area.